


Storm and Waffles

by Fenchurch87



Series: Tales of Kirkwall (and Beyond) [29]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 04:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19804741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenchurch87/pseuds/Fenchurch87
Summary: The Champion of Kirkwall, Marian Hawke, and the Inquisitor, Eve Trevelyan finally meet. A companion piece to Mistress Waffles Comes to Skyhold. Originally written in response to a writing prompt on /r/dragonage.





	Storm and Waffles

Marian Hawke shifted her pack to a more comfortable position on her back and peered up at the fortress. So this was Skyhold. _Well, it's certainly big enough_ , she decided. She wondered briefly how the Inquisition had managed to find the perfect base in the middle of nowhere, but then filed the question away, to be pondered when more important matters had been dealt with.

She pulled her hood a little further forward and approached the two men in armour who stood by the gates.

“Can I help you, Serah?” one of them asked.

“Yes. I need to speak to Varric Tethras. I... have some information for him.”

“Your name?”

“Mistress Waffles,” she replied, barely suppressing a giggle.

The guard rolled his eyes at his companion before gesturing to a messenger. “Jim! Tell Master Tethras that a _Mistress Waffles_ is here to see him.” The messenger nodded and hurried away.

Hawke sweated impatiently while she waited. It was far too hot to be wearing a fur lined cloak, but it was the only garment she owned with a hood, and she would prefer to keep her identity hidden, at least until she knew how things stood. Varric had spoken very highly of the Inquisitor in his letter, but had provided no clues as to how she – or anyone else in the organisation for that matter – would react to meeting the woman who had helped start the Mage-Templar War. The woman who had released Corypheus into the world. _The place has plenty of turrets, at least_ , she thought as she looked up at Skyhold again. _Varric can always hide me away in one of those if things turn nasty._

The gates opened with a heavy clank, and her old friend stepped through, looking much the same as she remembered. She remained where she stood, fighting the urge to run forward and hug him. That could wait until they were alone.

“Mistress Waffles, I presume?” Varric's voice gave nothing away, but she could see the faintest glimmer of laughter in his eyes.

She nodded.

“You wish to speak to me?”

She nodded again.

“Very well. We should talk in private. Follow me.”

Varric led her into a courtyard and up some stone steps to the battlements. She followed him around the walkways until he paused in front of a deserted – and rather run down – tower. “We should be safe enough here,” he said as they stepped inside.

“Thank the Maker! I'm roasting in this thing.” Hawke dropped her pack on the floor and tossed her cloak on to a chair. “It's good to see you, Varric,” she added, as she pulled him into a hug.

“It's good to see you too.” Varric squeezed her tightly for a moment, and then stepped back and grinned at her. “Mistress Waffles, Hawke? Really? Couldn't you have come up with a more believable name?”

“I could have,” she conceded, “but then you might not have known it was me. Besides,” she continued with a chuckle, “I thought it might make a few people laugh. But the gate guards didn't seem amused.”

Varric patted her arm. “Well, I thought it was funny.”

“Thank you, Varric.”

“How's Blondie?”

Hawke felt her good humour drain away at the question. “He was fine when I left,” she began. “And yet I am afraid. We barely survived when we met Corypheus before. What if I don't make it this time? What will happen to Anders then? I don't know what he'll do... what Justice will do.”

“It won't come to that.” Varric placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “If anyone can defeat Corypheus for good, it's the Inquisitor. We'll all get through this, you'll see.”

“I hope you're right.”

“You know me, Hawke. I'm always right.” Varric shot her another grin, and she couldn't help smiling back. “So, are you ready to meet Storm?”

“Storm?”

Varric waved a hand. “Oh, that's just what I call Eve – the Inquisitor – sometimes. If you ever see her angry, you'll understand why.”

“Still with the nicknames, I see.” Hawke laughed. “I'm ready to meet her. If she's half of what you made her out to be, the world had better watch out.”

“She's more. There's a few things I haven't told you. You're going to be pleasantly surprised, I think.” Varric raised an eyebrow at her and slipped out of the tower before she could question him further.

Left alone again, she ventured on to the battlements and looked out over the courtyard. The fortress was bustling with life. There was a small training ground almost directly below her, where a dark haired woman was pummelling the life out of one straw dummy after another. A little further away, she could see what appeared to be a makeshift infirmary, judging by the rows of tents and the solitary figure who rushed between them.

She glanced back along the walkway and saw Varric returning with a short blonde woman in tow. Hawke watched curiously as they approached. So this was Eve Trevelyan. The woman Varric had named Storm.

“Inquisitor,” Varric began. “Meet Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall.”

“Though I don't use that title much anymore.” She held out her hand. “Just call me Hawke. Everyone else does.”

“Hawke, the Inquisitor,” Varric continued.

“Eve.” The Inquisitor smiled warmly and grasped her hand in a firm grip.

Hawke looked her up and down. The Inquisitor was tiny, but she had a certain something, a presence, that made her seem taller than she really was. She wore pristine silver plated armour, and Hawke suddenly felt very conscious of her own travel stained clothes. But it was Eve's eyes that really caught her attention. They were a striking periwinkle blue, and it was all she could do not to stare at them. She wondered how many people had drowned in their beautiful depths.

“I was just admiring your view,” she said, by way of conversation. “It reminds me of my home in Kirkwall. I had a balcony that overlooked the whole city. I loved it at first. But after a while, all I could see were the people out there depending on me.”

“You're lucky it was just a single city,” Eve remarked. “I've got half of Thedas.”

“And you're doing everything you can to protect them.”

“Does it ever get any easier?” Eve asked, turning to her.

“I'll let you know,” she muttered, as the familiar weight of duty settled on her shoulders.

The Inquisitor's hand came to rest on hers, just briefly, but the gesture was comforting all the same. She exchanged a sad smile with her new acquaintance.

“I'm still getting used to having a view at all,” Eve mused. “In the Circle, they put bars over all the windows. We could barely see anything through them.”

“The Circle?”

“Yes.” Eve glanced at her and laughed at her confused expression. “Varric didn't tell you, did he?”

“Not that, no.”

“I said you'd be pleasantly surprised,” Varric chimed in.

“Well, you weren't wrong.” Hawke gave her friend a mock-glare before turning back to the Inquisitor. “So, Corypheus. What would you like to know?”

Eve's laughter faded as she turned her back on the courtyard to give Hawke her full attention. “Tell me everything.”


End file.
